Codebuff works by parsing out all function and class names from the source files in a directory and its subdirectories, building a codebase map, and caching this context for lower latency responses. It uses a stateless server to pass messages to Anthropic or OpenAI and websockets to ferry data back and forth to clients. The tool has been used in various ways, from building apps to writing unit tests, and an alpha SDK is available for integration into other systems.
Key takeaways:
- Codebuff is a tool that modifies files based on natural language requests in the terminal, simplifying the process of making changes to codebases.
- It was developed by James and Brandon and started as a hackathon project, but evolved into a product after realizing its potential to solve more complex problems.
- Codebuff uses the tree-sitter library to parse out function and class names from source files, and uses Claude Haiku 3.5 to cache the codebase context for faster user input responses.
- Codebuff is being used in a variety of ways, from building apps to writing unit tests, and there is an alpha SDK available for those who want to use Codebuff within their own systems.